Spectroscopic method and system for assessing tissue temperature

ABSTRACT

According to various embodiments, a medical system and method for determining tissue temperature may include a spectroscopic sensor. The spectroscopic sensors may be configured to provide information about changes in water absorption profiles at one or more absorption peaks. Such sensors may be incorporated into ablation systems for tissue ablation. Temperature information may be used to determine the scope, volume, and/or depth of the ablation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/569,721, entitled “Spectroscopic Method and System for Assessing Tissue Temperature,” filed Sep. 29, 2009, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to medical devices and, more particularly, to the use of spectroscopy to monitor changes in the temperature of water-bearing tissue.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to aspects of the art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Some forms of patient treatment involve removing unwanted portions of tissue from the patient, for example by surgical resection. However, for tissue areas that may be difficult to access surgically or for very small areas of tissue, tissue ablation may be more appropriate. Tissue ablation uses energy directed at the tissue site of interest to heat the tissue to temperatures that destroy the viability of the individual components of the tissue cells. During tissue ablation, an unwanted portion of a tissue, e.g., fibrous tissue, lesions, or obstructions, may be destroyed. Ablation can be achieved by various techniques, including the application of radio frequency energy, microwave energy, lasers, and ultrasound. Generally, ablation procedures involve ablating tissue that is surrounded by otherwise healthy tissue that a clinician wishes to preserve. Accordingly, better therapeutic outcomes may be achieved through precise application of the ablating energy to the tissue.

The precision of the ablation may depend in part on the type of energy applied, the skill of the clinician, and the accessibility of the tissue in question. For example, ablation may be complex if the target area is moving. During catheter ablation to correct an abnormal heartbeat, the cardiac tissue in question is typically in motion, which may affect the volume of tissue ablated. Because the ablation may take place internally, as in the case of cardiac ablation, assessment of the volume of the tissue necrosis may be difficult. In addition, depending on the type of ablating energy used, controlling the area of the ablation may be easier than controlling the depth of the ablation. Accordingly, the depth of the necrosis may vary from patient to patient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of the disclosure may become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a graph of the absorption spectra for water for two different temperature points;

FIG. 2 is a graph of estimated mean photon penetration depth plotted against wavelength for a sample of 70% lean water concentration and an emitter-detector spacing of 2.5 mm;

FIG. 3 is a graph of a simulated absorption spectrum of water for an example tissue sample at 37° C. and an emitter-detector spacing of 2.5 mm;

FIG. 4 is a graph of a simulated absorption spectrum of water for an example tissue sample at 50-60° C. and an emitter-detector spacing of 2.5 mm;

FIG. 5 is a graph of a simulated absorption spectrum of water for an example tissue sample at 60-80° C. and an emitter-detector spacing of 2.5 mm;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system for monitoring tissue temperature according to an embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a side view of an example of a spectroscopic sensor for acquiring information from the tissue according to an embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a top view of an example of a spectroscopic sensor with multiple detectors spaced apart from an emitter for acquiring information from the tissue according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a method of monitoring tissue temperature during ablation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

Provided herein are systems, sensors, and methods for spectroscopic monitoring of tissue temperature. When such systems are used in conjunction with a tissue ablation device, a medical monitor may assess changes in spectrophotometric parameters to determine the viability of a probed area of the tissue. Tissue areas with water absorption profiles characteristic of particular temperatures may be determined. Such systems may also be used to determine the viability of the probed tissue, i.e., probed tissues associated with temperatures above a certain threshold may be considered nonviable. As a result, the efficacy of the ablation may be determined. In other embodiments, the spectroscopic sensors as provided may be used in conjunction with other types of medical procedures that involve changing or monitoring tissue temperature, such as hypothermic or hyperthermic treatments.

Monitoring the necrosis of ablated tissue may be complex, particularly when using techniques that involve ablation of internal tissue. As provided herein, spectroscopic sensing may be used to noninvasively monitor tissue temperature at a number of tissue depths. The temperature information may then be used to determine the scope of the tissue ablation. Generally, ablated tissue cells will have characteristically higher temperatures as a result of the heat of ablation. During ablation, the tissue is heated until the resultant higher temperature of the tissue causes protein denaturation and other effects that lead to necrosis of the tissue. The temperature changes may be monitored by spectroscopically assessing changes in the shape, position and/or magnitude of one or more water absorption peaks of the tissue. Because wavelengths may be chosen that penetrate known depths of the patient's tissue, temperature information may be collected for relatively fine gradations of tissue depth that are otherwise difficult to obtain. Such noninvasive monitoring may provide information about the depth and/or volume of the tissue ablation and may allow clinicians to more precisely determine whether further ablating treatment may be needed. In addition, clinicians may be able to determine the borders of any ablated tissue in relation to the healthy tissue and may be able to match the borders with previously acquired data (e.g., cardiac images or tumors) to determine if the scope of the ablated tissue corresponds with the size, location and/or shape of, for example, known obstructions or tumors.

Sensors as provided may be applied to a patient's skin and/or internal organs (e.g., as part of a catheter or other inserted assembly) to monitor multiple absorption peaks of water, for example in the red or near infrared spectrum. While other potential absorbers may make up some percentage of the content of a patient's tissue, many of these absorbers, such as lipid and hemoglobin, do not change their absorption profiles significantly with temperature. For this reason, the absorption of water or other constituents whose absorption, as measured spectroscopically, changes with temperature may provide more information that relates to the tissue temperature. Accordingly, by monitoring changes in the water absorption profile that occur with rising temperatures for a single area of tissue (e.g., pre and post-ablation), a change in temperature for the tissue area may be estimated. To account for the variation in light scattering, a change may be measured against a pre-ablation spectrum. In addition, such information may be combined with a measured patient baseline temperature, either local or systemic, to determine the extent of tissue temperature changes. The near-infrared peaks of water shift and narrow with increasing temperature due to increases in hydrogen bonding between water molecules. FIG. 1 is a graph 10 of successive absorption peaks 12, 14, 16, and 18 (corresponding to peaks centered near approximately 975, 1180, 1450, and 1900, respectively). Shown are the shape and position of the absorption peaks for water at 37° C., shown by data 20, and at 60° C., shown by data 22, plotted against the depth of tissue penetration. As illustrated, the water at 60° C. is shown to have a different characteristic absorption profile.

FIG. 2 is a graph 30 of estimated photon penetration depth into tissue plotted against wavelength for light emitted into tissue and detected by a detector spaced approximately 2.5 mm from the emitter. In the depicted simulation, the tissue sample is assumed to have 70% lean water concentration, which is approximately the lean water concentration of typical tissue. As shown, over a portion of the spectrum, the penetration depth varies with wavelength. Accordingly, a particular wavelength is associated with a particular penetration depth for a particular emitter-detector spacing. By using a sensor or a combination of sensors with different emitter-detector spacings as well as different wavelengths, multiple spectroscopic temperature estimates corresponding to multiple tissue depths may be combined to estimate a thermal gradient that is predictive of the total volume of tissue that has been rendered nonviable by ablation.

Simulations of the types of shifts seen at different tissue temperatures are depicted in FIGS. 3-5, with all simulations assuming a 2.5 mm separation between emitter and detector, with both facing the same direction and embedded in tissue at or near the heating source. For each exemplary simulated tissue spectrum, multi-linear regressions were performed against experimentally determined tissue component spectra of water, protein, and lipid, plus the derivative of water absorption with respect to temperature. These regressions were performed using data over the spectral ranges of 945-1035 nm, 1127-1170 nm, and 1360-1570 nm, corresponding to regions of tissue spectrum where water is the dominant absorber and where water absorption changes significantly with temperature. Mean photon penetration depths were determined to be, respectively, 0.94 mm, 0.86 mm, and 0.52 mm for these spectral ranges, and did not differ significantly between these examples. However, in certain embodiments, depending ion the nature and temperature of ablation, a significant decrease in tissue water content may occur after ablation. A decrease in water content may allow deeper penetration for a particular wavelength. Accordingly, the mean photon penetration may increase over the course of the ablation. Such effects may be accounted for in determining the temperature gradient for a particular tissue sample. Similar temperature estimates may be obtained via other methods of comparing tissue spectra to features of tissue component spectra. For example, regressions may be performed between derivatives, or other mathematical functions, of tissue and component spectra.

Table I below shows the resulting temperatures estimated from the multi-linear regressions corresponding to each example and spectral range. As shown, the temperatures increase over the course of the ablation.

Spectral Range Temp FIG. 1 Temp FIG. 2 Temp FIG. 3  945-1035 nm 36.83° C. 49.45° C. 58.45° C. 1127-1170 nm 37.55° C. 47.33° C. 60.43° C. 1360-1570 nm 37.52° C. 60.64° C. 82.16° C.

The example shown in FIG. 3 is a graph 40 of absorption at multiple mean photon penetration depths at a plurality of near infrared water absorption peaks. The mean photon penetration depths may be estimated by using a graph similar to FIG. 2 of mean photon distribution for a particular emitter-detector spacing. Prior to heating, tissue is simulated at 37° C., assuming a tissue composition of 66% water, 24% protein, and 10% lipid. Because this corresponds to a pre-ablation tissue temperature, the temperature at different depths is generally about 37° C., corresponding to normal body temperature, before any heating through ablation occurs.

After ablation begins, the temperature of the tissue starts to rise and the water absorption profile begins to show characteristic shifting. FIG. 4 is a graph 50 of a simulation of tissue heating during the course of ablation. At a depth of 0.5 mm, the temperature was simulated to be 60° C., changing linearly to 50° C. at a distance of 1.0 mm. This corresponds with the temperature being highest closer to the ablating source and lower the farther away from the source. The tissue is assumed to have dried out during heating to a composition of 58% water, 30% protein, and 12% lipid. As shown, the center of the water absorption peak in the 1350-1600 nm range has shifted toward the shorter wavelengths as a result of temperature change.

After the ablation is completed, the temperatures have reached their highest point in the tissue and the affected region is rendered nonviable. FIG. 5 is a graph 60 of temperatures reached shortly after the completion of an ablating course of energy. At a depth of 0.5 mm, the temperature was simulated to be 80° C., changing linearly to 60° C. at a distance of 1.0 mm. The tissue is assumed to have dried out further due to continued heating, to a composition of 40% water, 42% protein, and 17% lipid. As shown, the center of the water absorption peak in the 1350-1600 nm range has shifted toward the shorter wavelengths as a result of temperature change. A shifting and narrowing of the water absorption peak in the 1350-1600 nm range may be observed.

FIG. 6 shows a system 70 that may be used for monitoring temperature in conjunction with an ablation procedure. The system 70 includes a spectroscopic sensor 72 with a light emitter 74 and detector 76 that may be of any suitable type. The emitter 74 may be a broad spectrum emitter or may be configured to emit light of a limited wavelength range or at select discrete wavelengths. In one embodiment, the emitter 72 may include a filter wheel for tuning a broad spectrum to a series of particular wavelengths. The emitter 74 may be one or more light emitting diodes adapted to transmit one or more wavelengths of light in the red to infrared range, and the detector 76 may be a photodetector configured to receive the emitted light. In specific embodiments, the emitter 74 may be a laser diode or a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL). The laser diode may be a tunable laser, such that a single diode may be tuned to various wavelengths corresponding to a number of absorption peaks of water. Depending on the particular arrangement of the sensor 72, the emitter 74 may be associated with an optical fiber for transmitting the emitted light into the tissue. The light may be any suitable wavelength corresponding to the wavelengths absorbed by water. For example, wavelengths between about 800 nm, corresponding with far-red visible light, and about 1800 nm, in the near infrared range, may be absorbed by water.

By way of example, FIG. 6 shows an ablation device 78 that may be associated with the system 70. However, it should be understood that ablation device 78 is merely illustrative of a medical device that may be used in conjunction with a spectroscopic sensor 72 for monitoring temperature and other devices may be incorporated into the system 70 if appropriate. In certain embodiments, the ablation device may be a microwave ablation device 78. In one embodiment, the sensor 72 is structurally associated (e.g., is disposed on) the ablation device, for example the emitter 74 and the detector 76 are disposed on a catheter, such as a cardiac catheter, or other implantable portion of the device. In embodiments in which the ablation takes place on the surface of the skin, the emitter and detector may be part of a housing or other support structure for the ablation energy source.

An associated monitor 82 may receive signals, for example from the spectroscopy sensor 72 through a sensor interface (e.g., a sensor port or a wireless interface) and, in embodiments, from the ablation device 78, to determine if the ablation has generated sufficiently high tissue temperature to destroy the viability of the tissue in the area of interest. The monitor 82 may include appropriate processing circuitry for determining temperature parameters, such as a microprocessor 92, which may be coupled to an internal bus 94. Also connected to the bus may be a RAM memory 96 and a display 98. A time processing unit (TPU) 100 may provide timing control signals to light drive circuitry 102, which controls when the emitter 74 is activated, and, if multiple light sources are used, the multiplexed timing for the different light sources. TPU 100 may also control the gating-in of signals from the sensor 72 and amplifier 103 and a switching circuit 104. These signals are sampled at the proper time, depending at least in part upon which of multiple light sources is activated, if multiple light sources are used. The received signal from the sensor 72 may be passed through an amplifier 106, a low pass filter 108, and an analog-to-digital converter 110. The digital data may then be stored in a queued serial module (QSM) 112, for later downloading to RAM 96 as QSM 112 fills up.

In an embodiment, based at least in part upon the received signals corresponding to the water absorption peaks received by detector 76 of the sensor 72, microprocessor 92 may calculate the microcirculation parameters using various algorithms. In addition, the microprocessor 92 may calculate tissue temperature. These algorithms may employ certain coefficients, which may be empirically determined, and may correspond to the wavelength of light used. In addition, the algorithms may employ additional correction coefficients. The algorithms and coefficients may be stored in a ROM 116 or other suitable computer-readable storage medium and accessed and operated according to microprocessor 92 instructions. In one embodiment, the correction coefficients may be provided as a lookup table. In addition, the sensor 72 may include certain data storage elements, such as an encoder 120, that may encode information related to the characteristics of the sensor 72, including information about the emitter 74 and the detector 76. The information may be accessed by detector/decoder 122, located on the monitor 82. Control inputs 124 may allow an operator to input patient and/or sensor characteristics.

As noted, the sensor 72 may be incorporated into the ablation device 78 or, may, in other embodiments, be a separate device. FIGS. 7-8 show examples of configurations for the sensor 72. In FIG. 7, the emitter 74 is spaced apart from the detector 76 a particular distance that may be stored into the encoder 110, so that the monitor may perform the analysis of the mean photon penetration associated with a particular emitter-detector spacing. The emitter 74 may be capable of emitting light of multiple wavelengths. Depending on the wavelength, the mean photon penetration depth may be shallower, as shown for path 130, or may be deeper, as shown for path 132. By collecting data from different depths, a temperature gradient through the tissue may be determined.

In addition to using different wavelengths to acquire data at different depths, a sensor 72 may also incorporate additional detectors 76 with varied spacing around the emitter 74. As shown in FIG. 8, a sensor 72 may incorporate detectors spaced apart different distances (shown as distances d₁, d₂, d₃, and d₄) from an emitter 74. If the distances correspond with characteristic water absorption profiles and mean photon penetration depths, then any change that occurs during an ablation may be correlated to a empirically or mathematically-derived tissue temperature.

FIG. 9 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method 134 for determining tissue temperature during an ablation procedure in accordance with some embodiments. The method may be performed as an automated procedure by a system, such as system 70. In addition, certain steps of the method may be performed by a processor, or a processor-based device such as a patient monitor 82 that includes instructions for implementing certain steps of the method 134. According to an embodiment, the method 134 begins with obtaining a baseline, pre-ablation signal representative of one or more water absorption peaks from detector 76 associated with the sensor 72 (block 136). The pre-ablation signal may be associated with normal body temperatures. The ablation device 78 may be activated and the sensor 72 may collect data during the ablation (block 138). The sensor 72 may also collect post-ablation data (block 140). The monitor 82 may perform analysis of the signals from the sensor 72 and calculation of the tissue temperature (block 142) based on the signal obtained.

For example, in one embodiment, the tissue temperature may be determined by examining changes in the water absorption peaks over the course of the ablation. If the change in the temperature is indicative of ablation (i.e., nonviability of the tissue), a monitor 82 may determine that a successful ablation has occurred. For example, tissue temperatures in excess of 43° C., 50° C., 60° C., or 80° C. may be indicative of ablation. In addition, such monitoring may include any appropriate visual indication, such as a display of a temperature or temperature versus depth, displayed on the monitor 82 or any appropriate audio indication. For example, an increase of tissue temperature above a predetermined viability threshold or outside of a predetermined range may trigger an alarm or may trigger an indication of ablation. Further, additional indications may include text or other alerts to inform that the ablation was likely successful.

While the invention may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: using a processor: receiving a signal from a spectroscopic sensor, wherein a tissue temperature of a patient may be generally determined from the signal; determining the tissue temperature based at least in part on the signal; and determining whether the tissue temperature exceeds a viability threshold.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed prior to an ablation being performed on the tissue.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed during an ablation being performed on the tissue.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the tissue temperature comprises determining a change in a magnitude, shape, or position of at least one water absorption peak.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the tissue temperature comprises correlating the change to a tissue temperature associated with the change.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the viability threshold is greater than about 43° C.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the tissue temperature comprises determining the temperature at more than one depth in the tissue.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the tissue temperature comprises determining a temperature gradient in the tissue.
 9. The method of claim 1, comprising providing a user-perceivable indication of the tissue temperature when the tissue temperature exceeds the viability threshold.
 10. A method, comprising: receiving spectrophotometric data associated with a mean photon penetration depth in a tissue of a patient from a spectrophotometric sensor; and determining one or more temperatures of the tissue associated with the mean photon penetration depth based at least in part upon the spectrophotometric data.
 11. The method of claim 10, comprising displaying an indication related to the one or more tissue temperatures.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the one or more tissue temperatures comprising determining a change in a magnitude, position, or shape of a water absorption peak.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the one or more tissue temperatures comprises correlating the change in the magnitude, position, or shape of the water absorption peak to a tissue temperature associated with the change in the magnitude, position, or shape of the water absorption peak, respectively.
 14. The method of claim 10, comprising: activating an energy source configured to direct ablating energy into the tissue of the patient; and determining whether the tissue temperature is associated with heat from the ablating energy.
 15. The method of claim 14, comprising assessing a scope of tissue ablation based at least in part upon the tissue temperature.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein assessing the scope of tissue ablation comprises determining a viability of the tissue or determining a volume of ablated tissue.
 17. A method, comprising: measuring one or more water absorption peaks in a tissue of a patient using a spectrophotometric sensor prior to an ablation procedure being performed on the tissue; measuring the one or more water absorption peaks in the tissue using the spectrophotometric sensor during the ablation procedure; and determining a temperature of the tissue based at least in part upon the measurements acquired prior to and during the ablation procedure.
 18. The method of claim 17, comprising: measuring the one or more water absorption peaks in the tissue using the spectrophotometric sensor subsequent to the ablation procedure; and determining the temperature of the tissue based at least in part upon the measurement acquired subsequent to the ablation procedure.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the temperature of the tissue comprises determining a change in a magnitude, position, or shape of the one or more water absorption peaks.
 20. The method of claim 17, comprising: receiving information related to the tissue ablation procedure; and assessing the tissue ablation based at least in part upon the tissue temperature. 